YourStory app financed by crowdfunding

The youth organisation of the Protestant Church (JOP) is using crowdfunding to finance enhancement of the YourStory app. YourStory is an online game in which the user carries out ‘meaningful’ assignments in daily life. JOP, one of the initiators of YourStory, hopes to raise 25,000 euros via crowdfunding. The app has been downloaded more than one thousand times since the beta version was launched in March. The money raised will be used to further develop the app. ABN AMRO MeesPierson is assisting the Protestant youth organisation in this crowdfunding project.

Mark van Keeken, Director of Relationship Management at ABN AMRO MeesPierson Institutions & Charities: ‘YourStory is an innovative way to encourage people to live mindfully and to make meaningful connections in life, for example by visiting somebody who is lonely. It’s a creative way of bringing young people into contact with the church and religion. The app currently focuses on Soest and Amersfoort, but we see potential for nationwide coverage.’

Room to grow

The social projects in YourStory are put forward by churches, schools, clubs, governments and businesses. More than forty organisations have submitted projects to the game, and the number of organisations is growing. A total of 25,000 euros is needed to further develop the app and to increase use of it.

Project carried out in return

Crowdfunding is an alternative form of finance in which investors and entrepreneurs are in direct contact with each other. Crowdfunding is not only about raising money, but is also a way to involve new target groups in projects. Investors get something in return for their investment. In the case of YourStory, investors can submit their own project to the game. More than 50,000 euros was raised for the successful crowdfunding pilot for the restoration of the buttresses on Saint Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht (Dom Church) in 2014. Crowdfunding of YourStory is a follow-up to this pilot.